In broad strokes, President Donald Trump and Memphis Mayor Paul Young agree on at least a few things about the Memphis Safe Task Force: Crime is down, and an increased law enforcement presence has played a role.
Beyond that, the agreement begins to break down — particularly when it comes to how those gains are measured, explained and projected forward.
Speaking Monday before a packed audience at the Tennessee National Guard facility at Memphis International Airport, Trump offered a sweeping assessment of the city’s trajectory, suggesting Memphis could soon become “an almost crime-free city.”
Notably absent from the dais during the discussion of crime in Memphis: Memphis Mayor Paul Young and Police Chief CJ Davis. Young, who said a personal conflict kept him from attending, addressed the media at City Hall shortly after Air Force One departed.
In his response, Young struck a more measured tone, acknowledging the impact of the task force while emphasizing that Memphis’ progress predates its arrival — and will depend on what happens after it is gone.
“I think that because of how we have aligned our efforts… it’s led to greater results,” Young said. “Certainly (the Task Force) amplified the work, but we know that the work continues.”
Trump: Memphis will be ‘almost crime-free’ in a few months
Flanked by Secretary of War Pete Hegseth, Attorney General Pam Bondi, Tennessee Gov. Bill Lee and FBI Director Kash Patel among others, Trump held court at a roundtable decorated with seized guns, drugs and ammunition.
In his usual off-the-cuff, loose-with-the-facts style, Trump praised the Task Force as a national model for aggressive, coordinated crime enforcement. He pointed to thousands of arrests, more than 1,100 illegal firearms seized and over 150 missing children recovered as evidence of the task force’s effectiveness.
Sprinkled between his improv remarks were a few national announcements:
Trump said he had directed officials to postpone planned strikes on Iran’s energy and electricity infrastructure to allow time for negotiations, adding that recent discussions between the two countries had been “very good” and could lead to a broader agreement in the coming days. (Media outlets report that Iranian officials have since denied any negotiations with the U.S.)
Closer to home, he announced that National Guard members deployed in Memphis and similar operations would receive benefits comparable to active-duty troops, a move framed as recognition of their role in ongoing public safety efforts.
He also tied the Memphis operation to his administration’s broader immigration enforcement strategy, noting that hundreds of undocumented individuals had been arrested locally as part of the task force’s work — a strategy that Mayor Paul Young takes exception to.
“That’s not a part of this task force that I like… that I am supportive of,” Young said.
Young: ‘I want to make sure I’m at the table’
In his remarks, he did not dispute that the task force has had an impact. But he pushed back on the idea that it represents the starting point of Memphis’ progress. Prior to the task force’s arrival, he noted, the city was already seeing a roughly 25 percent reduction in crime.
“That’s work that was already underway,” Young said, pointing to existing local initiatives that were expanded through federal partnership.
For Young, the more pressing issue is sustainability.
“We know at some point they will leave,” he said. “The question becomes, what are the things that we are going to be doing as a community to make sure that we sustain those gains?”
His answer centers on long-term investment — particularly in housing, workforce development and prevention. “We have to put opportunity in the hands of our young people,” he said.
The quiet accomplice: Tennessee gun laws
In 2021, Tennessee lawmakers approved permitless carry, allowing most adults to carry a handgun without a permit — a move supporters framed as an expansion of Second Amendment rights.
In Memphis, the effects have been hard to ignore.
The law has coincided with a rise in gun-related violence, and local leaders have repeatedly pointed to the growing number of weapons circulating in the city as a complicating factor in efforts to reduce crime.
In 2022, Memphis voters tried to respond. Residents overwhelmingly approved a referendum aimed at tightening local gun regulations, including measures related to handgun permits, safe storage and so-called “red flag” provisions.
Those efforts never took effect.
State law prohibits local governments from enacting their own firearm regulations, and the referendum was ultimately blocked — leaving Memphis bound to statewide policies it has no authority to change.
Asked about the issue, Young acknowledged the constraints facing local leaders.
“The laws are what they are,” he said. “And until they’re changed, my goal is to make sure that we are working to bring people the justice that they need and deserve.”
Demonstrations greet presidential visit
While in the Tennesse National Guard facility it was all cheers for Trump and his delegation, outside the secured perimeter, the reception was more divided.
Protests and counter-protests ultimately took shape at multiple locations across the city, including along the Macon Road corridor near Sycamore View Road, where a crowd gathered with signs and chants both supporting and opposing the president’s visit.
Supporters of the Task Force echoed the president’s message that aggressive, coordinated enforcement is necessary to reduce violent crime. Meanwhile, critics of Trump’s visit raised concerns about immigration enforcement and the presence of National Guard troops.
Backing up his ‘he ain’t welcome here, mane’ statement, State Rep. Justin J. Pearson called for federal resources to replace military personnel.
“Get out of here and leave the money because that’s what we need,” Pearson said at one rally, according to WREG NewsChannel 3. “We need the money to make Memphis the place it can be. We need the capital infusion. But we don’t need a white supremacist, domestic terrorist president in our city. That’s not going to help us.”
The demonstrations, while smaller than the audience gathered inside to hear from the president, underscored a central tension surrounding the visit — whether Memphis is being held up as a model for crime reduction or being used as a backdrop for a broader national narrative.
